There are several prior art clothes hangers of the type comprising a fixed length elongated arm or rod which is foldable into or out of a receiving receptacle hung on a wall and which can be extended horizontally from the receptacle outwardly so that clothes can be hung thereon, either directly or by means of conventional clothes hangers. More specifically, an elongated channel shaped receptacle is usually secured to a wall within a closet or bathroom, for example, and within which the foldable arm is suitably hinged at one end so that when not in use the arm can be folded up and back into an open side of the channel shaped receptacle. Appropriate supporting means is usually secured at one of its ends within the channel shaped receptacle and, at its other end to the foldable arm. The supporting means can be hinged near its center or made slidable within the channel shaped receptacle and, when fully extended, functions to support the foldable arm in its horizontal position for use as a clothes hanger.
Some examples of the prior art are given below. U.S. Pat. No. 3,941,250 to OTT shows a foldable support which is foldable within an elongated vertical housing, vertical mountable on a suitable wall. The foldable support can be selectively pivoted between a raised position within the vertical housing or a horizontal position extending outwardly from the vertically mounted housing. U.S. Pat. No. 4,171,748 to FABIAN shows a foldable hanger assembly for mounting on a wall. The assembly includes an elongated housing to which is pivotally connected a hanger arm that is storable within the housing when not in use. The hanger arm can be lowered to a horizontal position for supporting clothes hangers and the like. A support is hingedly secured at one end to the hanger arm and at the opposite end is slidably engaged with the housing at a point intermediate the length of the housing.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,582,762 to KLOCK shows a foldable clothes hanger which comprises a supporting channel for mounting vertically on a wall. A retaining strip is secured within the supporting channel with a clearance between the sides and back of the retaining strip and the side walls and back wall of the supporting channel. A foldable arm is pivotally secured at one end to a U-shaped element which fits behind the retaining strip so as to be slidable up and down thereon. A supporting arm extends from the top of the channel to a point near the center of the foldable arm to permit the foldable arm to be moved to a horizontal position and supported in such horizontal position by said supporting arm and a stop element located within the channel which limits the upward motion of the U-shaped element. To fold the foldable arm into the supporting channel the U-shaped element is slid downwardly and the foldable arm moves in an arcuate path upwardly and into the channel with the hinged supporting arm also moving in an arcuate path back into the channel. U.S. Pat. No. 2,484,535 to STADER shows a clothes hanger which can also be used as a door knocker. An arm is pivotally connected at one end to a lower end of a channel shaped element which is secured vertically on an appropriate vertical surface such as a door or a closet wall. When not in use the arm can be folded upwardly into the channel shaped element for storage.
A principal disadvantage of the prior art structures is the fixed length of the foldable arm. Such fixed length not only limits the depth of space in which the device is to be used but necessarily results in the channel shaped element being at least as long as the foldable arm.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a foldable clothes hanger whose useful length is variable.
Another object of the invention is to provide a more compact foldable arm clothes hanger than heretofore known.
A third object of the invention is to provide a foldable clothes hanger having a compact, channel shaped receptacle for receiving and storing a foldable telescopic arm assembly whose length can be varied in any desired amount from a minimum length approximating the length of the channel shaped receptacle to more than double such minimum length.